[i-rak, i-rahk] 
| a republic in SW Asia, N of Saudi Arabia and W of Iran, centering in the Tigris-Euphrates basin of Mesopotamia. 22,219,289; 172,000 sq. mi. (445,480 sq. km). Capital: Baghdad. |
I·raq (ĭ-rāk', ĭ-räk')  (click for larger image in new window) A country of southwest Asia. Site of a number of ancient Mesopotamian civilizations, including Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, and Babylonia, the region fell to Cyrus the Great of Persia (6th century B.C.), Alexander the Great (4th century B.C.), Arabs (7th century), and later to the Ottoman Turks (16th century). It was established as an independent kingdom in 1921 and became a republic after the assassination (1958) of Faisal II. Baghdad is the capital and largest city. Population: 27,500,000. |
Republic in the Middle East, bordered by the Persian Gulf, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia to the south; Jordan and Syria to the west; Turkey to the north; and Iran to the east. Its capital and largest city is Baghdad.
Note: The ancient civilization of Mesopotamia emerged in the valley between the Euphrates River and Tigris River in what is now Iraq.
Note: Ruled by Saddam Hussein, a dictator who invaded Iran in 1980 and Kuwait in 1990. (See also Persian Gulf War.)